I recently bought a Breitling Endurance Pro 44, with white rehaut and white OEM Breitling rubber 'Hershey Bar' strap.
Love the Endurance Pro 44 model, even for my medium-size 6.75” wrist, as the ‘Breitlight’ case profile is relatively thin and the watch is exceptionally light-weight. The only thing I didn’t love when I received it was the rubber ‘Hershey Bar’ strap… not because of its design but because of the thickness and therefore stiffness of the rubber, which prevents it from comfortably molding around or hugging the wrist.
I’m normally averse to wearing non-OEM straps and I especially like the way the Brietling rubber strap for the Endurance has the ‘Hershey Bar’ design debossed on the outer side of both parts of the strap. However, with comfort being a top priority for me, I decided to search the replacement-strap marketplace for a hopefully much more comfortable and better-fitting white rubber strap than the one Breitling placed on the Endurance at the factory.
Enter the "Zealande" strap. Zealande is a rubber watch strap company located in France. I actually came across the company a few years back when I purchased a blue FKM rubber strap for my Omega Seamaster 300. I recalled it being an exceptionally comfortable, well-made and perfectly-fitted aftermarket rubber strap. So, remembering that, I went back to Zealande’s website recently and noticed that they make a white rubber strap, with straight lug ends, specifically for the Breitling Endurance Pro 44. It’s available in two lengths (always a nice touch), and they include a solid milled tang buckle in either brushed or blackened steel. The blackened steel version is perfect for the Endurance Pro as it matches the OEM black Breitlight buckle that it replaces. It’s also, frankly, a better-designed buckle than the OEM buckle in my view.
I ordered the Zealande strap and installed it. What a difference this strap makes in terms of wearability. On the wrist it looks as good as the white OEM (though without the Breitling ‘Hershey Bar’ debossing), but it is a lot more comfortable and much better-fitting as it follows the wrist contours, unlike the OEM. The Zealande's FKM rubber is thinner and noticeably softer and more pliable than the Breitling's OEM strap, although by no means is it flimsy or cheap-feeling; in fact, it feels as "OEM" as the OEM it's replacing, just much better. The standard-size option (which I purchased) is shorter than the OEM strap by about 10mm, so the tail extends relatively little beyond the outermost keeper on my 6.75" wrist. Moreover, the underside of the outer, non-fixed keeper is ingeniously designed with a male 'protuberance' that mates with a female port-hole right near the tail-end of the strap, allowing the keeper to remain firmly in place rather than slide around or move completely off of the end of the strap. Also, the clearance between the lug ends of the Zealande and the case is total precision, so you know this strap was designed for the lug hole placement on the Endurance (though the strap might also be suitable for other Breitling models).
It's a shame that Breitling has not partnered with Zealande to produce it’s straps for the Endurance (and other Breitling models like the SuperOcean). There is simply no comparison in fit and comfort between the straps – the Zealande winning hands-down both because of the softness and pliability of the FKM rubber they use, and because of the perfect length, fit and great look. Certainly, in partnering with Breitling, Zealande could modify its strap to mimic the current OEM ‘Hershey Bar’ style.
BTW, I have no affiliation whatsoever with the Zealande company, so this endorsement of its strap for the Endurance Pro is entirely based on my personal experience as an highly-satisfied purchaser of the Zealande strap. You really can't go wrong with it.
_________________ __________________ "Hey sweetie, that a new watch you're wearing?".... "No hun, got this one A-G-E-S ago."
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